Window or Mirror?

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I responded to this question on another forum today and thought that I would post my answer here. In short, I ask, “Why are there so FEW school shootings”?

Here are the four major reasons I believe that we have school shootings:

1. No consequences
We have created a society in the United States that allows a ridiculous amount of irresponsible action before any consequences are felt, and even then they are reduced to a mere fraction of what ‘life’ would do to someone naturally. When you are raised in an environment where no correction is given regularly – in little ways – you don’t learn what you “should” and “should not” do. Our capability for deviance from reasonable action becomes larger as we get older and without this regular course correction, a child can end up with sloppy impulse control and a failure to mature.

2. No respect for life
We tell our kids that they evolved from a puddle of goo and that they are animals like any other. We tell them that nothing makes humans special save their ability to reason and that simple evolutionary processes over millions of years resulted in our intelligence and ability to seem like we have this thing some silly religious types call a “soul”. We call it “sentience” so that we can devalue it’s real import. We kill our children in the womb with regularity and tell each other this is somehow “more caring” than raising it. Our personal wants and desires are more important than a life. With this we prove that life is accidental, a mere happenstance of chance and that it is not precious; it is not something to revere or protect.

3. No right and wrong
Since religious people are a bunch of whackjobs that need something outside themselves (when there really IS nothing), we tell our kids that every belief in any “god” is the same crutch as every other and that anything you “choose to believe” is right. Morals change as society changes and the majority of people’s actions select what is “right”. “Right” is only a definition and it changes with the ebb and flow of human choice. Since there is no truth, and no “right”, the corollary is quickly figured by the child and nothing is viewed as “wrong”.

4. No Love
Many children today are raised by parents that have bought into points 1-3 above and that add a great deal of selfishness to the mix. These children have no “time” with mom or dad and therefore do not feel “loved” in any real way. There is no-one that cares for them, and this feeling is hyper-injected with hormone fuel at puberty, pushing many teens into a black depression. This results in young adults that know the world is cold and does not care what happens to them.

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So, we have a child that feels that no one cares, that places no value on life, that thinks everything is “fine” to do, and that has never practiced denying themselves anything. Add to this mixture a pile of racing thoughts and hormones, and I cannot believe that there are not MORE shootings!

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So, faced with this dire situation, we ask, “What shall we do”? In short, we must reverse each point above. My personal opinion on how to do this appears below. Please understand that I know that both the problem and the solution are not four simple steps, but I do believe that these four things are fundamental to our success.

A. Parents should give their children consequences for incorrect action on a consistent and age-appropriate basis from a very young age. As a child matures, so do the consequences and as the child’s capacity to understand increases, so do the explanations of what these actions might bring in the world outside the home and why, “we don’t do that”. Society should then change to allow all citizens to feel the consequences of their own actions. If you don’t want to work, you don’t eat. If you want to live off of others and thieve to do that, you’ll end up working anyway; on a chain gang.

B. We should teach respect for life from a young age as well, by putting each other above ourselves and teaching that life is a gift from God, given to both the animals and man by God Himself. We should teach children that we are above the animals and are to care for them, but that God made us in His image and therefore we each have infinite significance as children of the King. Christ would have died for any ONE of us, and that makes our lives significant! We must then change society to reflect the view that life is important by protecting each other from those that would take life. This would come in the form of protecting life and limb and extending that basic right to children yet in the womb. We cannot tell children to put another before themselves and then put our convenience ahead of the lives of the unborn.

C. There is truth, and we should teach that to our children. Our God lives today and is active in our lives and on this earth. Children should be taught about faith, God, and how best to glorify Him; and then watch as their parents model that behavior. As Americans, we need to get over this misplaced and hyper-extended notion of a separation between church and state and begin to teach the truths that our forefathers recognized, that all rights come from God Himself and that He has given us the definition between “right” and “wrong”. Truth exists, and we should recognize it, teach it, and live it.

D. Does it not go without saying that if there is love that there will be less violence? We should love our children. I don’t mean that we should have “warm feelings” inside toward them, but we should LOVE, as a choice and as a verb. Place yourself aside as a parent and spend time with your children. Work alongside them, talk to them, listen to them, and give them a home in which they can emote and still be safe and protected. Teach them then to love as they have been loved. Explain to them what love is and means, don’t assume they “just know”. Explain what it takes to make interpersonal relationships work. Ensure that they understand that they can control only themselves and that they should love without expecting emotion in return. Tell them how they can do this because God does this with each of us, and as children of the King, we can do this for each other.

Will these things stop school shootings? Perhaps not entirely, but children that have been raised as I describe in an America as I describe will very likely be innoculated against that type of behavior from a young age.

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